Girls Shouldn't Try Raunchy Comedy, Variety Critic Says: Variety's television critic Brian Lowry let slip a bizarre opinion this morning while reviewing Sarah Silverman's upcoming HBO comedy special We Are Miracles—namely, that because she's a woman, she shouldn't be "as dirty as the guys." Uh. What?
9 comments:
It is kind of difficult to comment on this article because one way you are a feminist and the other you are an anti-feminist. So I'm just going to go for it. Everyone has their own preconceived notions about how things are supposed to be based on how they were raised. All of our parents generation were raised in a place more civil than the one we are being raised in right now. It is all how use to things that people are. Nowadays profanity isn't all that bad and is heard daily everywhere. It didn't use to be such a common thing. There was a time that if an African American got up on stage, he would be laughed right off because of his race, not the quality of his jokes. Now, Eddie Murphy is one of the funniest people around. African Americans got the right to vote before women, so it is obvious that they will be accepted in other things before women. There will be a time when anything is okay for women and men alike, but it all takes getting use to. The next generation will be raised with comedians like Silverman, so maybe it will be more okay. Or maybe the values of the previous generation will be enforced more strictly so that female comedians excel greatly out of rebellion. You never know until it happens.
K Clark I would like to agree with you but sadly I don't think this is true. I think a lot of times black comedians are still laughed at because of race or feel that they can only make jokes that are about racial issues. I think racism is just as prevalent in comedy as sexism. Also while some might say it has gotten better I think it has just changed, racism and sexism are less blatant now, so to have Brian Lowry come right out and say that Sarah Silverman (not my favorite comedian either) should not be raunchy because she is a woman is appalling. I look forward to the day when we can all just be people who do things regardless of gender and race but sadly I think those things are so ingrained in our culture and we use them so much to define us that that day is far off.
I absolutely agree with Zoe, I find it completely ridiculous that someone would have the audacity to tell Sarah Silverman that the jokes she makes should not be made due to her gender. Who is to say what types of jokes should and shouldn't be said. If she feels it necessary to tell jokes her way, then she should be more than allowed to. It is sad that things are like this, that there are people that have these thoughts and ideas so ingrained in their heads that they think its correct and acceptable to judge or critique someone based on their gender or race.
I was so relieved to see this article after commenting on the actual Variety article its written about. No one else's comments even mentioned how outrageous it was that this writer was criticizing Silverman for being as raunchy as her male peers. The writer of this article brings up some really excellent points. One of the things that I appreciated about it was that she mentioned that she herself is "not Silverman's biggest fan" because this is clearly much bigger than just a review of "We are Miracles" (which is what Brian Lowry was supposed to be doing). What is important here is not whether or not you enjoy this kind of comedy, it is recognizing that if guys can do stand up in this way, Silverman should not be criticized for it.
This Variety critic can say what they want, but Sarah Silverman's career speaks for itself. People think she's funny, and evidently it hasn't mattered that she's a woman. Often times I don't understand what's going through the heads of critics who make statements they KNOW will get a negative rise out of people (maybe I should try and understand what's going through their wallets instead.) Most times, they are only making the person whom they are speaking out against more popular. This isn't going to be Sarah Silverman's downfall, it's going to be her pick me up. Controversy is an attention grabber. These types of things don't end conversations, they start them.
Firstly I don't think that Sarah Silberman is funny and even if she was a MAN, I wouldn't think that she was funny either. I don't condone jokes/comedy that floats on the basis of insulting or making fun of others. Due to that belief, I am coming from a very neutral point of view. Someone who is openminded to change and advancements in gender equality, would see nothing wrong with a female comedian being as "raunchy" as the males. However, Lowry isn't one who falls into that category. Would Lowry have enjoyed the jokes if they came from a man? YES, probably! What would the review have been like then? It probably might have been the complete opposite.
I have learnt that you can't make anyone change their perception of things, unless they want to. However what you can do is to keep doing what makes you happy as well as what makes the people who support you happy and that is exactly what Sara is doing. She knows that she has haters, she knows that many people (male and female) don't like her jokes. However she has a job to do and she is doing it. Lowry is just another man in a long list of push-backers.
This is completely ludicrous. Of course, comedy does not have to be crude to be humorous, but that does not mean that women be excluded from performing such jokes. It is outlandish that people are still under the impression that women need to uphold this facade of purity, cleanliness, and innocence. Women can have minds just as dirty as men's and find many of the same things humorous. It is ridiculous that people think women "shouldn't be allowed" to do certain things simply because of their gender. Women are people and deserve to tell whatever jokes they want. The perception of women should not determine what is and is not funny.
I think this link is interesting/ relevant: http://www.indiewire.com/article/gender-inequality-film-in-infographic-form
It's strange an unfortunate how women are treated to ridiculously differently in the film/ theater/ etc industries. There areSO many articles, videos, and blogs exposing sexism and fighting to stop it. Hopefully the end is near!
Lowry’s opinion that women shouldn’t perform raunchy comedy not only is unsupported, but his bashing of Sarah Silverman and people supportive of her is a curiously specific choice of a target. Coincidence? Probably not. Anyone can take any group of people and formulate an opinion based on a singular example of an individual’s behavior. In this case, Lowry chooses Silverman because she is undoubtedly notorious for her unrestrained comedy that includes large amounts of crude humor. Sure, the pilot for her show didn’t go over so well, but that can happen to anyone, and there is no way someone can rightfully speculate that it’s because Silverman is a woman. Anyone can look at other female comedians and know that this isn’t true. Kathleen Madigan, Kristen Schaal, and Amy Schumer are all examples of successful female comedians who rely on crude humor in their bits. All of this is not to say that gender does not affect comedy, as it is undeniable that females have a harder time in the comedy industry than males due to general social constructs, but Lowry’s claim that females shouldn’t perform raunchy comedy whatsoever is absolutely ridiculous.
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